Michael Helmer

Work History

• 

  Co-Director

  Industrial Brothers

  January 2020 - Present

  Toronto, Canada

  Co-Director
• 

  Assistant Director

  Industrial Brothers

  November 2018 - December 2019

  Toronto, Canada
• 

  Senior Previs Artist

  Industrial Brothers

  August 2017 - November 2018

  Senior Previs Artist

  
• 

  Senior Previs/Layout Artist

  Cinesite

  April 2015 - August 2017

  Montréal, Canada

  

  

  
• 

  Senior Previs/Layout Artist/Supervisor

  Arc Productions

  June 2012 - April 2015

  Toronto, Canada

  • Supervising and working with a team of 4-7 artists to complete 26 x 8.5 min. episodes of this popular children’s television series
  • training and developing new, young artists, for their role on the show, as well as for their role as a layout artist in a studio pipeline
  • daily review of work with the artists, giving guidance and feedback, and helping make corrections
  • discuss script with director, and researching reference materials
  • communication with board artists about locations, environments and logistics ensuring cohesiveness of story and assets
  

• Unit Stills Photographer

  Freelance

  October 2013 - October 2013

  Toronto, Canada

  Unit stills photographer for the independent short film "The Last Halloween" Based on Mark Thibodeau's short comic book THE LAST HALLOWEEN, this was a short film produced by Red Sneaker Media.

• Unit Stills Photographer

  Incident Pictures, Project AMB

  August 2013 - August 2013

  Toronto, Canada

  Unit Stills Photographer on the feature film, My Ex-Ex
• 

  Intermediate Layout Artist

  Arc Productions

  June 2012 - July 2013

  • Thomas & Friends is a beloved British children’s show which has been in production since 1984. We completed 26 x 8.5 min. episodes during this season

• Event Photographer

  The Gladstone Hotel

  June 2012 - February 2013

  Toronto, Canada

  Photographing a variety of events, including art shows, music and entertainment functions at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto.

• Numba9 Animation Inc

  January 1999 - May 2012

  • I started a small business to create and develop original short films, feature film, and television shows, as well as supply animation production to local studios.
  • Have provided animation services to many local Animation Studios, such as Red Rover Studios, Chuck Gammage Animation, Cuppa Coffee, Head Gear Animation, and Yowza Animation.
  

• Unit Stills Photographer

  Freelance

  October 2011 - November 2011

  Toronto, Canada

  Unit Stills Photographer - Independent Short Film "The Sweetest Hippopotamus"
• 

  cleanup artist

  Elliott Animation

  November 2010 - August 2011

  Toronto, Canada

  Design clean-up, Posing clean-up, storyboard clean-up and revisions on 26 x 22 minute episodes.
• 

  Design Supervisor

  9 Story Media

  July 2010 - November 2010

  Toronto, Canada

  Supervising a team of up to 10 junior designers, create designs from script through to final client approvals.
  This included creating design fun packs for board artists, co-ordinating rough design and clean-up and colour to a final client approved,and animation friendly design ready for production.
• 

  design artist

  9 Story Media

  February 2010 - July 2010

  Toronto, Canada

  Working with the director, I was designing characters and props from the script to provide client approved rough, working designs for the storyboard artists.

• Cuppa Coffee

  January 2010 - February 2010

  Working with director to interpret the intention of the sequence and my assigned shots, I worked through all stages, initial posing, rough animation, cleanup and inbetweening.

• Head Gear Animation

  2005 - 2009

  Freelance animator/assistant animator/FX - responsible for working with in house directors animators on short projects and commercials.
• 

  House of Cool Inc.

  May 2008 - October 2008
• 

  Chuck Gammage Animation

  February 2008 - May 2008

  Charlie White short film project, also involved in scheduling, budgeting,
  and streamlining the production of these 2 short films
  
  

• Red Rover Studios

  1999 - 2008
• 

  Chuck Gammage Animation

  1999 - 2008
• 

  Elliott Animation

  July 2007 - October 2007

  ToonBoom Harmony animator on the 6Teen Tv series.

• Geted Productions

  February 2005 - March 2006

  Maya based 3D show ­ layout/cinematorgraphy/pre-vis/scene set-up
  Assisted with general overall workflow for the layout department,
  including, creation of new locations and environments, assigning shots
  and sequences, supervising other layout personnel, and reviewing their
• 

  Freelance Artist

  Yowza! Animation

  January 1999 - June 2005

  - freelance animation assistant/clean-up/inbetween/FX artist

• Flash Animator

  Unplugged TV

  May 2001 - July 2001

  TV series "Mailien and the Magic Paintbrush."
  Flash animated video segment for the music group RUSH's
  VapourTrails Tour.

• Animation Assistant

  Inbetween

  June 1996 - January 1999

  Films include: Beauty and the Beast Christmas, Pocahontas II,
  Mouseworks

• Disney Canada

  1996 - 1999

• Animation Assistant

  Inbetween - ReadySoft

  July 1995 - June 1996

• senior layout artist

  Cinesite Montreal

  April 2015 - August 2017